Where does North Carolina go from here?
On Saturday, UNC, and its atrocious defense, were the talk of the college football town in the 11 AM slate. The Tar Heels paid JMU $500,000 to embarrass them at home, all while giving up 70 points in the process. James Madison walked into Chapel Hill with a fresh Division I coach and a ton of new players and left maniacally laughing and 500k richer. That’s showbiz, baby.
After the game, while addressing his team, head coach Mack Brown reportedly offered to step down if his team thought he was the problem. Players rebuffed the claims, instead vowing to play better.
Entering the season, I had a feeling it would be Mack Brown’s last at UNC. He’s 73 years old and the sport moves especially fast for someone at that age. But after watching what happened on Saturday, I can’t help but wonder if Brown will even get the chance to finish the season.
Hollywood endings are reserved for Hollywood. Even a famed coach like Bobby Bowden had to be nudged from his pedestal. This feels like the beginning of the end of an illustrious career for Brown.
Why can’t Mizzou get out of first gear?
On Saturday night, No. 7 Missouri narrowly avoided a disaster, overcoming Vanderbilt 30-27 in 2OT. This was the fourth game in a row where the Tigers seemingly did not get out of first gear. What gives?
I’m not even sure I have an answer. The eye test tells me the offense is moving much slower than I expected. Last year, Missouri played with pace and appeared to have a much more attacking mindset. This year, it feels like a far cry from that fun, attack-minded plan.
Instead, Missouri has this meandering approach. And it’s allowed teams to limit the Tigers’ explosive plays and keep games close.
Let’s watch this space moving forward.
Does anyone want to represent the G5 in the College Football Playoff?
Perhaps one of the biggest disadvantages of being a Group of 5 team is a lack of depth up and down the roster. G5 teams are quite literally a few turned ankles away from falling apart on any given week.
That is, in part, what makes the race for the G5 to the CFP so interesting. It’s a wide-open race every single week.
Last week, NIU was the clubhouse favorite after knocking off Notre Dame in South Bend. But on Saturday, the Huskies dropped a late one to conference foe Buffalo. Then Memphis had a clunker against Navy. Before that, Texas State was a good shout, before losing a shootout to Arizona State.
Right now, it appears that Liberty and UNLV are leading the pack. It’s anyone’s guess how long that might last.
Was the Colorado loss the final nail in Baylor coach Dave Aranda’s coffin?
Saturday night, Colorado shocked Baylor and the college football world when quarterback Shedeur Sanders launched a game-tying Hail Mary as time expired in the fourth quarter. The almost 50-yard bomb forced the game to overtime, where superstar Travis Hunter dislodged a would-be touchdown from the Bears’ grasp in the loss.
The cruel fate of that final play in regulation? According to Carter Yates of Dave Campbell Texas Football, that final defensive play call was named Victory Cigar. Ooof.
Whatever the opposite of a victory cigar is what’s happening with Dave Aranda at Baylor.
After a killer 12-2 season in 2021, Aranda penned an extension at Baylor. But it’s been downhill ever since.
In 2022, Baylor limped to 6-7 and a bowl game loss to Air Force. In 2023, things completely unraveled, with Baylor finishing 3-9 and just 2-7 in Big 12 play. This season is off to a rough start too, with the Bears currently sitting at 2-2 with a pair of ranked games on the immediate horizon.
Before the season, Aranda was tabbed as a candidate for the distinguished First Coach Fired label. If it weren’t for Florida’s Billy Napier, he might be at the top of the list.
The revisionist history of the Aranda era will be strange. The Victory Cigar game will be the game people point to as to why he was fired.
Whatever happened to that Beefy 5-Layer Burrito?
What I’m Reading This Season
SID Sports - Don’t forget to subscribe to Griffin Olah’s SID Sports newsletter. As a former Divison I sports information director, Olah has a great grasp of the sport and I really enjoy his work.
2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.
Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, this SZD is where I'd send them.